Paul Goriss was up until 2am making phone calls in a bid to turn the Canberra Capitals around. A few hours later he is on the hunt for a good cup of coffee when he picks up the phone in Atlanta.
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Ask him how the coffee is over there and his response makes you wonder which of those tasks is actually more difficult.
Which, Goriss jokes, is one of the best things about coming back to coach the Capitals, where he won back-to-back WNBL championships before moving to Atlanta to take an assistant coaching role in the WNBA.
"I get to have good coffee again every day," Goriss laughed.
Goriss will return to the Capitals for the 2024-25 WNBL season after signing a deal to return as coach with Kristen Veal stepping down due to medical issues.
Now Goriss is challenged with coaching in the WNBA and building a roster capable of challenging for a WNBL playoff position after the Capitals finished with back-to-back wooden spoons under Veal.
The first job - trying to re-sign superstar Jade Melbourne, who is making waves in the United States and is one of the most sought-after players on the WNBL free-agency market.
The free-agency period opened last week after several delays, and Goriss has just Nicole Munger and Jayda Clark signed for next season.
Goriss is looking to rebuild the roster after the Capitals managed just six wins in the past two seasons.
"Jade is obviously a priority. If you get someone of Jade's calibre, that will have a trickle-down effect of people signing and wanting to come. Jade is the domino we need to fall first," Goriss said.
"There's no guarantees as far as recruiting or winning championships, I just want us to be competitive. I want to get us back to having Canberra and the Caps as a destination players want to come to.
"They'll know they're going to work, they're going to get better, and they're going to be in contention for being a top-four team. We've got to get back to that."
![Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss is returning to the club. Picture by Karleen Minney Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss is returning to the club. Picture by Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/3a3e7955-5600-42df-92e5-50784a4aba6f.jpg/r0_435_4256_2828_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Goriss has been in Canberra for the highest of highs. How nice would it be to recapture those glory days in a return to the AIS Arena?
"Obviously it would be awesome, but it's too far ahead to think of," Goriss said.
"Let's just get a competitive team, do the best in free agency that we can, to put a great product on the court for the fans. It's exciting to go back to the arena and play there, it's an exciting time to be back. The No.1 priority is getting a competitive team on the floor."
Goriss still has another year to run on his deal with Atlanta and University of Canberra director of sport Carrie Graf managed to fend off WNBL rivals to secure his signature.
Sleep is at a premium for Goriss, who will also head to the Olympic Games in Paris as part of Sandy Brondello's Opals staff. When he finally returns to Canberra in the coming months, he returns a different coach.
"I am who I am as a person. How I want to play is to the core of who I am," Goriss said.
"But I'm also seeing how teams play here - not just our Atlanta team, but other teams in the WNBA, their style and how they go about playing both offensively and defensively - so I'll definitely bring back things from here which change how I coach and how my teams play.
"At the essence of it too is when I had Kelsey Griffin, Marianna Tolo, Kia Nurse, Kelly Wilson, Leilani Mitchell, I adapt to the players I have. I have a style in mind, but I've also got to recruit the players that suit that style or adapt to the style of players we recruit.
"I'll come back a better coach with more experience. It's not going to be a matter of coming back, waving a wand and we'll be a top-four team. I know there is a lot of work to be done to build the roster back up.
"I spoke to [Carrie Graf] about where the program was heading, the direction of the program and where they saw it. It's obviously been a rough couple of years as far as where they finished on the ladder, so I guess I wanted some assurances it was going to be better and there was more investment in the program and players to make it better, and to get it back where it should be.
"After having those discussions, I decided to take the leap of faith and come back."